Consumer Psychology

Consumer psychology studies how people decide what to buy and use — perception, attitudes, decision-making, and the psychology of consumption and marketing.

Scope

It covers consumer decision-making, attitudes and persuasion, judgment and choice under uncertainty, and the psychology of advertising and branding.

Sub-topics

• Consumer Attitudes & Behavior
• Marketing & Advertising

Core questions

• How do consumers make decisions?
• How do attitudes and persuasion shape buying?
• How do biases affect choice?
• What drives consumption and brand attachment?

Key concepts

• Consumer decision-making
• Attitudes and persuasion
• Heuristics and biases
• Branding
• Choice under uncertainty

Key theories

Decision under risk

Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory explains systematic biases in consumer choice under uncertainty.

Consumer behaviour models

Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell developed influential models of the consumer decision process.

History

Consumer psychology grew at the intersection of psychology and marketing, drawing on attitude and persuasion research and, decisively, the behavioural-decision tradition (Kahneman & Tversky).

Debates

Rational versus behavioural consumers

Whether consumers are best modelled as rational utility-maximizers or as boundedly rational and bias-prone.

Key figures

• Daniel Kahneman
• Amos Tversky
• James Engel
• Roger Blackwell

Seminal works

• kahneman-tversky-1979
• engel-kollat-blackwell-1968

Frequently asked questions

What does consumer psychology study?

The mental processes behind how people choose, buy, use, and relate to products and brands.